When You Least Expect It
by goldgirlbomb
Summary: Sam and Eduardo continue on their journey together, now finally married! The two couldn't be any happier. But as Captain Alan and the Rika begin harassing the Sirius, what will happen when something happens to Sam that no one expected? Sequel to "An Officer And A Gentle Pirate"
1. Chapter 1

Sam stretched languidly, her back pressed down into the nice, warm sand. Waves crashed on the beach in front her, and she lie on the beach, shaded by a large palm tree. It was such a beautiful day, hardly a cloud in the sky, Sam marveled. She'd dozed off for a little while, and yawned lazily as she rolled over. Eduardo was lying on the sand next to her, having dozed off himself, still holding one of her hands in his. She giggled as she poked his cheek with her finger, but still he didn't stir. Gently removing her hand from him, she decided that she'd take a quick swim in the water. She stretched again as she stood, and made her way down to the clear blue water before her.

It had been quite some time since the Sirius's encounter with Daniel, and so much had happened since then. Daniel was tried for his crimes, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Most of his friends received the same punishment. Leonardo had once again thanked the Sirius pirates for stopping Daniel, and had even sent them a small reward for their deeds.

The Sirius had gone on a well deserved vacation, and they all had a blast. They'd gone to some island that Sam couldn't remember the name of to save her life. They'd spent at least a few days there lounging about, that much she did remember. Morgan had spent most of his time drinking rum on the beach, and would drunkenly run into the ocean at random moments, splashing about. Thomas and Russell built a lot of sand castles, practically littering the beach with them. Nathan had spent most of his time there fishing, as he wanted to stock up on seafood for the ship. He tried to teach Sam how to fish at one point, but she just truly wasn't cut out for it. More to the point, she just got so frustrated with it that she'd given up.

Eduardo spent some time showing Sam how to properly fight with a sword. They dueled with one another, shuffling about in the sand. Sam remembered how much fun she'd had, laughing with Eduardo as they'd kick sand at one another. They'd spent some of their time together walking along the beach, talking, and teasing each other. Sam felt almost like they were a bunch of love-struck teenagers, how they acted with one another. Not that she'd minded much, it was a nice change of pace for the two of them. While they were there, Eduardo had proposed to Sam. She couldn't help but giggle now as she remembered how flustered he'd been when he'd asked. As he'd got down on one knee, he'd dropped the ring in the sand, and flustered about to retrieve it, trying not to let her see it. It had been just very un-Eduardo like that it made her smile. So of course she'd said yes.

As they were still out at sea at the time, they'd decided to have a small ceremony on board. Eduardo had suggested that they could wait until they ported somewhere and they could have a large, elaborate ceremony. But Sam hadn't wanted to wait that long. She'd never really wanted a big wedding, or the big poufy dress, as most girls would. All that had mattered to her was the man she loved being there, and just her closest friends, the other members of the crew. They were married on the Sirius in front of all of their friends, and it was the happiest day of Sam's life. Nathan had surprised them and had prepared an elaborate wedding cake for them to celebrate. It wasn't too large, but large enough to take several days for the crew to finish off.

Not long after they'd returned back to the Sirius, Morgan had led them on yet another treasure hunt on some uncharted island. He claimed that they needed to stock up on their funds once again, as they'd spent a good amount of it on their previous vacation. It was a rather quick mission, an in and out kind of job. Navigating through the dense forests had proven to be a challenge in and of itself, but Thomas had managed to lead their way through it. It had taken them several days to reach their destination, but they eventually managed to find the treasure. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was enough to sufficiently last them for a while until they could come across another one.

As they hadn't had a proper honeymoon, Morgan had insisted after their treasure hunt, that she and Eduardo take a few days to themselves. They'd dropped them off at this one island known for its luxury honeymoon location, and said that they'd sail around the island and would come back to pick them up in 3 days time. That had been two days ago, and Molly now dove down into the cool water. Coming back up for air, she brushed back the wet hair from her face. She and Eduardo had been having a nice time together, and were extremely glad to finally have their alone time together. But the ship would be coming back to get them in the morning, and Sam felt slightly disappointed that her alone time with Eduardo was starting to come to an end. She looked down admiringly at the wedding ring on her ring finger. It was small but beautiful, and Sam couldn't help but stare at it from time to time. She was just so happy to finally be married to Eduardo, that she couldn't help but admire it every now and again.

She turned as she heard a splashing sound coming up from behind her, and smiled as Eduardo waded through the water towards her. She giggled as he made a move to grab her, but she danced her way out of his grasp. She dove back underneath the depths of the water and swam away. Coming back up for air once again, Eduardo caught up with her and grabbed her around her waist, hoisting her up and over his shoulder.

"And where do you think you're going?" Eduardo teased, making his way toward shallower water. Eduardo looked over his shoulder at her and smiled wickedly at her, the corner of his lips curling. As Sam was about to ask him what he was up to, he suddenly tossed her over his shoulder again, throwing her back into the ocean. She quickly held her breath as she was instantly submerged. As she came to the surface, sputtering and staring at Eduardo in astonishment, he laughed. She smiled as she continued to stare at him, wiping the water from her face. Eduardo shrugged his shoulder and turned as if to leave. She took her hand and splashed some water at him and the two commenced with a splashing battle.

Sam giggled as she waded over to Eduardo, continuing to splash him. When she got close enough, Eduardo stopped splashing her, and grabbed her by her waist. He pulled her up against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her lower body against his. She smiled up at him and threw her arms around his neck.

"I hate that we have to go back tomorrow." She complained.

"Yeah, I was just beginning to enjoy myself here. But the crew need us." Eduardo replied, his hands tracing lines on her lower back.

Sam pouted. "Do they need us back so quickly though?"

Eduardo grinned, his voice lowering an octave as he spoke. "Well, we have tonight at least, so I suggest we enjoy it." Sam's body tingled at the thought as Eduardo pressed his lips against hers, bringing a hand up to rub her breast.

She pulled back slightly, smiling. "Shouldn't you save that for the bedroom?"

Eduardo smiled mischievously down at her. "Don't think I can wait until then." His lips came down and devoured hers as they sank down into the ocean, wrapping their bodies into each other's.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, the Sirius came around and picked Sam and Eduardo up, ending their brief honeymoon. Sam was disappointed that it was over, but was happy that they could have the time together. Russell and Nathan had of course teased them about their honeymoon, but with a cock of Eduard's pistol, they quickly returned to their duties about the ship. It was yet again another beautiful day, and Sam leaned up against the side of the ship, watching the island slowly disappear into the distance. Eduardo went back to work steering the ship, and winked down at her when she looked up at him, standing behind the wheel.

Morgan walked over and stood next to Sam, leaning against the side of the ship beside her. "Enjoy yourselves?" He asked, his tone smug and he smirked at her.

Sam smiled, continuing to stare out at the sea. "Yes. We had a great time."

"Good. We're glad."

She turned to him. "Thank you again for letting us do that. It means a lot."

"You're welcome. I'd never be one to prevent a couple from going on their honeymoon. See, I'm an old romantic at heart I suppose."

Sam glanced at him, eyebrow raised. "Oh you are, huh?"

Morgan chuckled. "Well of course. But that's besides the point. I needed to talk to you briefly about something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"When we were circling the island, we ran into the Rika and Captain Alan…"

Sam immediately rolled her eyes. "Pity I missed it."

Morgan smiled briefly at her comment. "Well listen, we just need to be extra careful around here right now, alright?"

"What do you mean?"

Morgan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Well, I'm sure you're aware for his…feelings for you."

Oh yes, she was completely aware. Alan had made it a known fact that he wanted Sam as his own on multiple occasions. Even though he repulsed her, he had it stuck in his mind that it was him that she truly wanted, and was just being coy with him. She remembered when he'd taken her captive; right around the time her and Eduardo first got together, and had took her to the Rika. He'd also taken Thomas, as he wanted some treasure map of some sort. But it was Sam he wanted to keep. Luckily Eduardo and Nathan had come for her, and they were able to get away. It was also around that time that Eduardo had confessed his feelings for her. Despite the fact she still hated him, Sam had kind of thanked him for that little push Eduardo needed to confess to her.

Sam shuddered as she remembered her last, most recent, encounter with Alan. Alan, in his crazy mind, was still convinced that Sam was being held captive on the ship, and that Eduardo was torturing her, or some crazy mess like that. He'd full on attacked the Sirius and tried to take her with him, a feeble attempt that left him empty handed and a bullet hole through his captain's hat. Now that Sam thought about it, that incident hadn't been too terribly long before the thing with Daniel.

Sam nodded at Morgan. "I'm unfortunately aware."

"Well, I'm just warning you, but he's back. And more persistent this time. He…dropped by, while you two were gone."

Sam sighed. "You think he's going to try something?"

"Probably, knowing that stupid bastard. I'm just telling you this now to keep your eyes peeled, and to be careful. You're under the full protection of the Sirius here, and you're a valued member of our crew, so I can promise you that I won't let any harm come to you while you're with us." Morgan smiled at her.

Sam smiled back and placed her hand on his shoulder as the two looked back out at the open ocean. "Thank you Captain, I greatly appreciate that." The two stood in silence for a few moments, staring out at the clear, never-ending sea meeting with the continuous sky. Admiring at how the two blues mingled into one.

Sam felt a sudden wave of nausea hit her, and quickly released her hand from Morgan's shoulder. She moved further away from him and bent her head over the side of the ship, becoming ill. Morgan quickly went to her side, almost unsure of what exactly to do, but patted her back gently as she wiped her mouth once she'd finished. She cheeks flushed as she glanced back at Morgan, who looked down at her, concerned.

"I know Alan's kind of loathsome man, but he's nothing to get sick about." Morgan feebly tried to joke, continuing to pat her back.

"I'm… I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me…" She whispered, embarrassed.

Morgan held her by her shoulders, inspecting her face. "It's quite all right, it happens sometimes. You should probably go visit Christopher, just in case though." Morgan gave her a gentle push towards Christopher's office, and he turned and walked up towards the wheel of the ship to talk to Eduardo. Eduardo, she noticed, hadn't seemed to have seen her episode, to which she was grateful.

Sam nodded solemnly, shuffling off towards Christopher's office. She had no idea what had suddenly come over her. She'd felt completely fine one moment, and then completely sick the next. Even now, she already felt better. She placed a hand on her belly, feeling it's slightly swollen nature. In the past few weeks, she'd noticed how her belly had started to look a little swollen, but Sam had just written it off as her overindulging herself with Nathan's cooking. It wasn't very large, and even Eduardo hadn't noticed it when they were intimate with one another, but she'd noticed it. As Sam walked up towards Christopher's office, she made a note to ask him about it. Maybe she'd gained some weight from all of the food, and her body was just now reacting to it?

She knocked on the door and waited briefly. She heard Christopher shuffle to the door, and opened it, grinning down at her. Seeing her face, he ceased smiling and ushered her inside, closing the door firmly behind them. He pulled out a chair for her to sit down on and asked her what was wrong. She explained her sudden illness, and Christopher went about checking her. He took her temperature, her pulse, her breathing rate, checked her heart beat, the works. Sam quickly proposed her theory of her eating too much recently to him, to which Christopher shot down almost instantly. He stated that if that were the case, she'd have been sick around the time she'd eaten a lot. Her body wouldn't wait so long for it to react so suddenly.

Sam then confessed that she'd been feeling swollen around her belly region for the past few weeks. She explained that she hadn't thought anything of it until she'd gotten sick just now. Christopher placed his stethoscope on her belly, and moved it around gently for a few moments while Sam looked out the window. Through the tiny window in his office, Sam could see another ship coming up close to the Sirius.

She quickly tapped Christopher on the shoulder. "Chris, there's another ship pulling up next to the Sirius."

Christopher lowered his stethoscope and looked through the window. He wrapped the stethoscope around his neck and stood, walking over to his medicine cabinet. He riffled through the contents inside for a moment before seemingly finding what he was looking for. As he grabbed a small box from inside, the ship rocked violently and Sam could hear a loud explosion coming from the side of the ship. She and Christopher exchanged looks, and Sam went to stand up from the chair, but Christopher stopped her. He came back to her and tossed her the small box as he headed towards the door. Her eyes widened as she read the label, and looked back up at him.

"Go in the bathroom and take that test real quick for me. I'm going to go find out what's going on outside, and then I'll be back, so _stay here_." Christopher instructed as he swiftly exited the room, leaving Sam to stare down at the box with the pregnancy test inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Placing the test on the counter, Sam ran over to the window to see what was going on. Smoke was drifting up from someplace on the ship, but Sam couldn't see far enough to see where it was coming from. How did Christopher expect her to just sit here when something was going on, on the deck? She ran over to the door and cursed Christopher when she found he'd locked her inside. She kicked at the door in frustration and ran back to the window, standing on the tips of her toes to angle herself for a better view.

There was a ship lined up next to theirs, and as Sam squinted her eyes, peering through the smoke, she slammed her hand against the wall. The Rika. Couldn't Alan seriously take no for an answer? She could hear shouting come from outside, and tried to crane her neck around to get a better view, but was unsuccessful. The voice was definitely coming from their ship, that much she could determine. And from the sound of it, it was definitely Eduardo doing the yelling, but she couldn't tell exactly what he was saying. She heard a couple of gun shots, and the other ship began to quickly move away from their ship.

A few moments later she heard the door behind her unlock, and Christopher stepped back inside. She jumped down from her spot by the window and went over and slapped at his shoulder. He laughed as she slapped at him, and jumped out of the way.

"What the hell did you lock me in here for?" She demanded.

Christopher laughed. "Don't blame me, your husband came up behind me and did it."

"Did you tell him why I was in here?" She asked nervously.

Christopher shook his head. "No, he didn't ask so I didn't say anything. He just saw you go in and when I left, he came up behind me and locked it."

Sucking her teeth, she made a mental note to give Eduardo the same treatment when she saw him again. "What happened?"

"Other than Captain Alan completely losing his marbles? Nothing much. He fired their cannon at us, putting a pretty considerable dent in the side of our ship. He tried to board the ship but Eduardo fired a couple of shots at him, and he left."

Sam groaned. "Doesn't anyone on the Rika have a brain or do they all just share one?"

Christopher laughed and shrugged. "Don't know, suppose they just share the one. But that's beside the point, have you taken that test yet?"

She shook her head. "How could I go take that when all that commotion was going on outside?"

Christopher lifted the small box from the counter and placed it in her hands, giving her a gentle push towards the bathroom. "Come back here when you're done so I can confirm it or not."

Sam stared down at the box anxiously. "I'm kind of afraid to take it."

"Why?"

"Because what if I am? Eduardo and I haven't even talked about children yet… What if he doesn't want it? Or me if I am?"

Christopher shook his head and reached forward, tussling her hair. "Eduardo's not that kind of guy. I highly doubt that your _husband_ will disown you if you are. It might not have been what ya'll planned, but I'm sure he'll be happy about it. And anyway, we don't know if you are yet, so go. Hurry up." He then gave her another gentle push, and she finally shuffled into the bathroom.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned back against it, staring once again at the small box. She pulled one of the sticks from inside and placed it on the sink counter. In all this time, she'd never even come close to suspecting that she might be pregnant. Sure she hadn't had her period in a while, but she'd never been regular. She could go for months without having one. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. She had always imagined, when she was younger, that when she did eventually become pregnant, she would just automatically know. Have that pregnant glow or something girly like that.

As she sat down and starting taking the test, she wondered how she would feel if she was. Would she be happy? Would she feel devastated? How would she tell Eduardo? She knew Christopher was right and he wouldn't just disown her, but would he be upset? Would she just be a burden on him and the rest of the crew? Shaking the thoughts from her head, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She placed the test on some tissue paper on the counter and washed her hands. She placed the cap over the end of it, and cleaned it quickly. She briefly thought about waiting until it changed, and looking at it herself. But as her hand shook nervously, she decided it might be better to let Christopher tell her.

She walked back into his office and handed him the test. "I can't look at it. Can you just tell me?"

Christopher smiled and nodded. "Of course. Go ahead and sit down and I'll tell you when it changes." Sam went and sat back down in the chair she'd been sitting in before. Christopher leaned against his desk and looked down at the stick. Sam rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, taking in another deep breath. After a few moments, which felt more like an eternity to Sam, Christopher looked back down at the stick. He smiled and placed the test back down on the counter and went and crouched in front of Sam, placing a hand delicately on her knee.

"Congratulations." He said simply, his tone happy.

It took her a second to process his meaning, and then when realization dawned on her, she immediately smiled. She'd been afraid that if the test was positive, that she'd feel horrible but, in fact, she felt quite the opposite. Sam felt a sudden rush of pure joy hit her, and she giggled, grabbing Christopher's hand and squeezing it in hers. Christopher grinned at her as she felt a few tears fall down her cheeks as she continued to was now so thrilled about what she now knew grew inside her.

"R-really?" She sputtered.

Christopher nodded. "Yep. Test was positive. Although I already had a feeling you were, given your swollen belly."

"I… I had no idea…"

Christopher smiled. "Well I would have been surprised if you did. I mean, other than your lower belly being slightly puffy looking, which to be honest doesn't even look very puffy at all to me, you probably wouldn't have known if you hadn't gotten sick earlier."

Sam nodded. "How far along?"

Christopher stood back up and went over to his desk, grabbing a clipboard and scribbling some things down. "Well I'm going to take some blood from you here in a minute to confirm exactly where you are at right now. I won't know the results of that for a few days though. You don't look very far along, but different women show at different times during their pregnancy. My guess though is right around three months."

Sam couldn't help but continue to giggle as she started rubbing her swollen belly with one hand. She looked down at the slightly puffy area and smiled. Her baby. Her and Eduardo's baby. She still had no earthly idea how she was going to tell him, but any doubts she'd had before suddenly vanished. They were going to have a baby.

Christopher came back over to her with some of his equipment and took her arm, quickly taking a small blood sample from her. He took the sample and set it over by where some of his other equipment was set up. Christopher didn't have very many high tech gadgets, and had to make due with smaller machines that took more work and more time for him to operate. After scribbling a few more things onto his clipboard, he went back over to Sam and sat down next to her. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it in his.

"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you two." He beamed at her, switching from his more professional nature back into his regular self.

She hiccupped as happy tears continued to come from her eyes. "Thank you! Please don't… uh… please don't tell the guys though… I want to tell Eduardo first."

Christopher nodded, reaching over to a box of tissues on his desk, and handing one to her. "Of course. Have you decided how you're going to tell him yet?"

She shook her head, wiping her eyes with the tissue. "Not a clue. But I might as well go do it now and get it over with though."

Composing herself, she thanked Christopher again, and exited his office. She walked around the corner towards the ships wheel, where she knew Eduardo would still be. He stood next to Nathan and Russell, talking loudly about the damage to the side of the ship that the Rika had done. As she neared them, she could see the considerable dent that they were talking about, and winced. It was definitely large enough for it to need a considerable amount of repairs, and she hoped that they could make it in time someplace for them to fix it. As Sam came up behind them, Nathan and Russell excused themselves to go about their duties, leaving Eduardo and Sam alone.

"We're going to have to port somewhere close to repair the ship." Eduardo said, as if to explain, when Sam peered over the side of the ship again. Eduardo looked down at her briefly before turning to look back out to the, and Sam remembered the incident earlier. Well, first things were first, she reached forward slapped him against his shoulder.

He jumped slightly in surprise, and then grabbed his shoulder, giving her a look of annoyance. "The hell did ya do that for?"

"That's for locking me in Christopher's office you big dope." She replied, placing her hands on her hips, but smiling at him.

"Just did it for your safety." He grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

"I know," she said, taking his hand in hers, "which is why I'm not going to punish you."

Eduardo raised an eyebrow at her, leaning towards her and giving her that look of pure sarcasm that Eduardo was so famous for, but always seemed to make her melt. "Punish me, huh? You think I would've let you?"

Sam laughed and shook her head, pulling at his hand towards their room. "Probably not. But I have something I need to talk to you about, come on." He reluctantly released the wheel and took a step forward.

"I need to steer the ship, you know that."

"I know, but it can wait for a little bit." She said gently, pulling him behind her towards their bedroom. As they walked, she started trying to form the words in her mind of what she was going to say, but she began to feel nervous as they walked down the hall, her mind going blank. She hoped that Eduardo hadn't noticed that her hands had begun to shake a little as she led them into their bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"What's all this about then?" He asked, leaning against the wall with one shoulder.

She giggled nervously. "I just… uh… I just need to tell you something… and I didn't want everyone… I didn't want them to hear."

He shrugged his shoulder. "Alright. So out with it then."

She twirled in fingers in her hands as she spoke. "I was in Christopher's office about something…"

"I know, I locked you in there remember?" Eduardo interrupted, his voice teasing.

"This is serious." She mumbled.

He chuckled. "Sorry, you just looked too serious. It's not like you."

Sam stepped forward and took his hand and held it in hers. She laced her fingers with his as she looked down at the ground, suddenly becoming more nervous. He straightened and lifted her chin with his hand.

"Your hands are shaking. Tell me what's going on. Now." He said, his tone changing from teasing to worry.

She smiled bravely up at him, terrified of what his reaction might be. "I'm pregnant."

Eduardo nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I already knew that."

Sam's eyes instantly widened and she shoved against him. "You already _knew_? How the hell did you already know?"

He laughed at her reaction and leaned back against the wall. "You really had no idea did you?"

She threw her hands in the air, frustrated. "No I had no idea! How in living hell did you already _know_?! Do you have some sort of radar I'm not aware of?"

Eduardo chuckled again. "Well when a woman asks the chef to make her pickles and ice cream, sorry it's kind of obvious." Sam quickly recollected a few weeks ago when she'd been in the dining hall eating dinner with everyone and she'd quietly requested the item of Nathan. He'd given her a strange look, but had prepared it for her and had given it to her. She'd devoured the bowl, despite the odd looks from the rest of the crew as well. As with a lot of things lately, she'd not really thought much of it at the time.

Sam stood opened mouthed as she looked at him. "I just really wanted something sour and sweet at the same time." Eduardo raised an eyebrow at her and she closed her mouth.

"How the hell did you know before I did? And why the hell didn't you say anything?" She pouted as he grabbed her by her waist, and pulled her against him.

He grinned at her. "Well at first I thought you knew, but then I quickly realized that you had no clue. I guess I didn't want to ruin the surprise for you after that."

She looked up into his teasing eyes. "Are you upset?"

He knitted his eyebrows together. "Why the hell would I be upset? That's my child you're carrying in there." He kissed her lips gently as she began to smile against him.

"Are _you_ upset?" He asked.

Smiling, she shook her head and threw her arms around his neck. "No. I'm very happy."

Pressing his forehead against hers, he kissed the tip of her nose. "Good."


	4. Chapter 4

Upon returning back upstairs, Eduardo and Sam had decided that they would announce the pregnancy during dinner with everyone. Other than Eduardo, the only other person who knew was Christopher, and Sam felt anxious all over again. The last thing she wanted to be was an inconvenience for any of them, and she knew that her being pregnant now was probably going to be a hassle. With a quick kiss, Eduardo went back to work and Sam went downstairs and asked Nathan if he'd like any help with dinner, who gladly accepted her help. All the while she was peeling the potatoes Nathan had handed her, she fretted over what exactly she'd say to them.

She herself was still flabbergasted about the ordeal, she had no idea how they'd take it. Eduardo was, well, Eduardo. While yes she'd been stunned that he'd already known, she wasn't necessarily that surprised. Eduardo always seemed to know everything before she did. She wasn't sure if he was just that observant, or just really that good. Either way, she had so much to plan for now that she knew that she was, it almost made her head spin. And now that she thought about it, the whole ordeal with Alan would make this whole situation even more complicated. She sighed as she tossed a peeled potato into the bowl.

A few, short hours later, the group crowded the dining room, practically demanding food. Sam helped Nathan bring the food in, and then took her usual spot in between Nathan and Eduardo. The group began shoving food into their mouth, particularly Russell and Thomas. But Sam had been on board with them long enough to know that that was just how the two ate, like they hadn't seen food in months. Christopher smiled at her as he began to eat his food, and the group sat in their usual silence whilst everyone emptied their plates. Conversation was usually saved for the end of the meal, as everyone was otherwise preoccupied with their food.

Eduardo nudged Sam, and she looked at him nervously. He wanted her to tell them. Of course. She pleaded with him with her eyes for him to do it, but he shook his head. It was technically her news after all, but she still was nervous. He nodded his head and winked at her, nudging her once again. Stinking pirate, she thought.

She took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Hey guys, I, uh, have some news I want to share with you guys."

The guys stopped eating long enough to stare up at her. Morgan took a large swig from his beer and slammed it down on the table, then looking to her. Russell and Thomas both had food poking at the insides of their cheeks like squirrels storing nuts for the winter. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight, and she felt slightly less anxious as she composed herself again.

"Well what is it?" Russell mumbled through his mouthful of food.

"I'm pregnant." She said quickly, holding her breath.

"Yeah we know." Nathan stated simply, going back to his food as if they were merely talking about the weather.

"What?!"

Morgan took another swig of his beer. "Yeah, we already figured that out."

"Wait! I didn't know!" Russell complained, swallowing his food to speak.

Thomas sat forward. "I didn't either!"

Nathan rolled his eyes, not even looking up from his plate. "You two wouldn't know a blue whale tap dancing behind you."

"Well how the hell did you two figure it out?!" Sam asked, sounding slightly frustrated. Eduardo leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest as the group chattered, amused.

Christopher raised his hand as if to interject. "I hate to say it, but I kind of figured it as well. Even before you came to see me today."

Nathan chuckled for the first time. "Yeah, I suspected as much when your appetite really kicked up a notch. You usually don't eat very much, but lately you've almost been as bad as Russell."

Sam opened her mouth to protest when Nathan interrupted by speaking again. "Plus I saw you puking earlier. That just kind of solidified it."

"Wait, when did she puke? I don't remember that." Thomas asked, lost in the conversation.

"I was talking to her about Alan and she just suddenly ran for the side of the ship and started puking." Morgan said, and then winked over at Sam.

Nathan scoffed. "If Alan had the hots for me I'd probably puke too."

Sam threw her hands in the air. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"No, I agree with Nathan. Alan had a grip hold on most people's gag reflexes." Thomas said, causing Christopher to spit his water out, laughing.

Eduardo covered his mouth with a fist, trying to stifle a laugh as Sam spun around at him. "What the hell is so funny?" Christopher across the table began to laugh as well.

"Am I the _only_ one who didn't know that _I _was pregnant?" She cried.

"Well if it makes you feel any better Sam, Thomas and I didn't know." Russell said, looking rather annoyed at the other guys.

"Slightly but…" She started but was once again interrupted.

"Hey! Maybe you guys could name it after me!" Morgan exclaimed gleefully, who like Eduardo, was looking extremely amused by the entire ordeal. Eduardo cleared his throat, continuing to try to not laugh due to the glare Sam was giving him.

"Like hell I'd name any child of mine after you." He joked at Morgan.

Russell leaned against the table. "Well what about me?"

Sam groaned and put her elbows up on the table, putting her head in her hands as the boys continued on with their little interlude. How is it that they had already figured something like this out? Eduardo included. Had she really been acting that differently around them? She hadn't really felt that much different. But apparently the little signs that she'd merely ignored, or hadn't even noticed, had been as apparent as a hippo coming and sitting next to them. On the one hand she was aggravated that she'd been so clueless about her own body, but on the other hand she was kind of glad that they knew, and were, from the sounds of it, being extremely supportive about it.

She glanced over at Eduardo, who was smirking down at her. "I mean, have I really been acting that differently around you guys?"

Eduardo smirked and rubbed her back gently. "No, not really. We just all know you so well by this point that we just picked up on things. We may be pirates love, but we're observant."

She felt Nathan's hand pat her head. She looked up at him, and he flashed her a little smile. "Congrats kid." He said, rustling her hair.

"Yes, it's indeed good news," Morgan exclaimed, raising his glass, "Cheers you two!"

"You… you guys aren't upset?" She asked quietly.

Thomas cocked his head to one side. "Why would we be upset?"

"Well having a baby around isn't exactly ideal for you guys."

Christopher grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "It'll just be one new member of the family." Christopher's words touched her, and Sam smiled at him.

"Yeah, kids are great! I'm great with kids!" Russell said, looking more excited.

Eduardo raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Shut up I've always been great with kids!"

"That's because you're dumb enough to pass as a kid yourself. Only taller." Nathan teased, smiling sarcastically at him. Sam laughed as the guys immediately started fighting and laughing with one another. She was overwhelmed with happiness by all the guys supporting her and Eduardo. And now that she thought about it, Christopher's words were truer than she'd really thought about before. These guys were her family. They were the only real family she'd ever known, whether they realized it or not. She snuggled into Eduardo's side as he threw an arm around her shoulders.

She looked up at him. "So when are we going to make it to port?"

"Hm?"

"You said that we have to stop somewhere to repair the damages to the ship."

"Oh yeah, we should be there by tomorrow." Eduardo said, watching as the fighting amongst the group continued.

Sam giggled. "Well, the baby will never be bored around here, that much is for sure."


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Sam helped the boys dock the ship into the port. They'd arrived there sometime around noon, but their good fortune with the weather had seemed to disappear overnight. The clouds covered the sun, and it had rained on and off most of the morning, and continued to do so into the afternoon. They had spent most of the night talking and laughing, and the boys continued to tease her into the wee hours of the morning. They'd of course celebrated as well, after the teasing had eventually died down. They all seemed genuinely happy for her and Eduardo, and were almost excited as they were to welcome a new member to the crew. Needless to say, however, they were all pretty tired as they lowered the ladder and tied the ship to the dock.

Morgan walked onto the dock. "We're gonna need to go up and find somewhere that works on ships, and get an estimate from there. It's gonna take a good amount of time and won't require all of us, so you all can go into town and do whatever errands you need to."

Russell yawned and stretched after he finished tying his section off. "Can I go back to bed?"

Morgan smiled. "Nope, you're coming with me." Russell groaned but followed after Morgan, shuffling behind him.

"I'm going to go grab some things for the kitchen." Nathan said, walking up the dock towards the market.

"Then I should probably go grab some medical supplies while we're here, have fun you guys." Christopher said, walking past Sam and giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Thomas ran after him. "I'll go with you!"

Sam turned to smile at Eduardo. "Looks like you're stuck with me then."

Eduardo smirked down at her, taking her hand. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing."

Sam laughed as they walked off the dock together. "It's not."

"We could probably use some more ammunition on the ship for the guns and the cannon, so why don't we run up and see if they have any?"

Sam shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

With fingers intertwined, the two made their way up through town. Sam couldn't recollect if they'd ever been there before. She didn't recognize any of the buildings, and she'd like to think that she would remember such a large place, so she assumed that this was the first time. It really was quite large, even a decent bit larger than Moldor. The streets were packed to the brim with people, and chatter filled the streets. It had been such a long time since she'd so many shops, and they took their time as Sam looked at all of the extravagant stores. She stuck closely to Eduardo's side as they slowly walked through.

The smell of freshly baked pastries filled her senses as they passed by the local bakery, causing Sam to practically drool. They'd of course went inside and grabbed a donut to split, when Eduardo had seen her face. Eduardo let her take the first official bite, and upon taking a decent bite out of the side, she hummed in pleasure as it melted in her mouth. She'd held it up for him to take a bite, feeding it to him as they exited the bakery. He agreed that it was pretty good, but told her to eat the rest. She, in no way, shape or form, complained as she devoured the delectable pastry. She licked her fingers as she finished, looking up to see Eduardo raising an eyebrow at her. She blushed and stopped. Smirking at her, he took one of her fingers, and licked the remaining glaze off. Her body tingled as he returned her finger to her, and walked forward as if nothing happened.

Eduardo eventually had to stop and ask someone where they could find ammunition, as they both had underestimated the enormity of the town. They were pointed just back down the street, where they had passed right by. Entering the small ammunition shop, Eduardo walked to the counter and asked the man behind the counter if they had the specific kind that they required. The two men conversed as Sam walked about the store, looking at all of the different weapons on the shelves. She picked up a pistol that resembled Eduardo's and inspected it. Eduardo had taught her enough about pistols, and how to operate one, that she was quite familiar with them now. She noted the design on the handle of two ships in the midst of battle, and placed it delicately back on the shelf.

She began to feel nauseous again, and quickly walked towards the exit. Eduardo turned around to look at her. "Where are you going?"

"Just outside for a moment for some fresh air, I'll be back in a minute." She said calmly, trying not to alert him of her upcoming episode.

"Do you need me to go with you? If you hold on just a second we can go out together."

She waved her hand, swallowing thickly to stall her upcoming episode. "No, no, I just need to get some fresh air real quick I won't be long."

He shot her a smile. "Try not to get into too much trouble, huh?"

"I'm already knocked up, what other kinds of shenanigans can I get into?" She called over her shoulder jokingly.

She quickly made her way into the alley beside the store, and made it just in time. Holding onto the side of the wall, she stooped forward and, as quietly as she could without drawing too much attention to herself, became sick. She emptied the contents of her stomach onto the cobbled street beneath her, distantly feeling bad for making a mess. As she wiped her mouth and sighed, she vaguely thought of how much of a waste it was for that good donut she'd eaten earlier. She hoped that this whole getting sick thing wouldn't last very long, as it was quite uncomfortable. She walked towards the fountain up the street to get some water, just to get the taste out of her mouth. It was a good distance away from the ammunition shop, but she desperately needed to get some water.

She sat down on the side and cupped her hands together, catching some of the falling water. She took a couple of sips, and splashed some on her heated face. Hoping no one else noticed, she took another couple of sips of water and went to stand. In the distance, she could see Eduardo exiting the shop. She'd probably taken too long and he'd come out to check on her. She stood up and walked towards him, excusing herself as she made her way through the crowd.

She felt as someone grabbed her arm and as she went to turn to see who it was, she felt something cold and hard press into her back. She quickly realized it was a knife, and stopped dead in her tracks. Turning her head, white hot fear stabbed into her as she looked up into Alan's cold eyes smiling down at her.

"My pearl." He whispered. She went to scream, but he pressed the knife firmly against her, effectively silencing her. He then began pulling her away from the crowded street. She looked up to see Eduardo looking around; his face beginning to look worried, as he searched for her. Alan began pulling her through the crowd, walking towards one of the empty alleyways up ahead. She had no idea where he was trying to take her, but she knew that she didn't want to find out.

Thinking quickly, she decided to try to escape from Alan. Alan never was one to think his plans all the way through, he usually acted first and thought about it later. So he was likely alone, and had just by coincidence seen her in the crowd. The first thing she concerned herself was the knife against her back, and she tried to think of the defensive move Nathan had shown her once. Taking a deep breath in, she acted. Spinning quickly, she elbowed the hand Alan had the knife in, knocking it away. She then slapped him firmly across the face. He released her long enough for her to wiggle out of his grasp, and began running through the crowd. She shouted Eduardo's name, who immediately looked up upon hearing his name. He saw her running towards him, and began shoving his way through the crowd towards her.

Behind her, she heard Alan's voice calling to her over the crowd. "I'll be back my pearl. And next time I do, you'll be mine!"

Eduardo finally reached Sam, and pulled her into his arms. They quickly made their way back through the crowd towards the side of the street, out of the way. He held her to him as she trembled, holding onto Eduardo as if her life depended on it. His familiar fragrance somehow began to calm her as he placed his chin on the top of her head.

"I shouldn't have let you out of my sight." Eduardo hissed, holding her tightly.

She shook her head. "It's my fault. I'm the one who left, remember?"

"Doesn't matter, I should have gone with you."

"No, I left because I was going to get sick and I didn't want you to see."

Despite himself, Eduardo chuckled. "Didn't want me to see? What, you think that my pregnant wife having morning sickness would somehow repulse me?" He used his hand and began stroking her hair.

She giggled, starting to smile. "Well, it's not really that. I didn't really have much time to think through the details, I kind of had more pressing issues to take care of."

He kissed the top of her head. "Maybe we should just head back to the ship."

Sam nodded against his chest. "Maybe that's best…"

Eduardo noticed her hesitation and pulled away enough to look down at her face. "What's wrong love?"

"What are we going to do? He's not going to stop. And now with the baby I'm just afraid…" She said, a tear falling down her cheek. She hadn't really felt like crying, but the tears came anyway. Damned hormones.

Eduardo cupped her face and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "We'll figure it out. I promise. Once the ship is repaired, we'll be sailing far away from here and won't have to worry about Alan for a while. We'll keep a sharp eye out for him in the meantime. And hopefully with time his fascination with you, like most of his brain cells, will die off."

She nodded. "I hope so."

"And in the mean while… we have some planning to do." Eduardo said, his smile showing off the dimples that made his handsome face even more attractive. Sam kissed him again, and the two headed back to the ship.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam and Eduardo returned to the ship a few minutes later, Eduardo having no hesitation in taking his wife to where he thought she'd be safe. None of the other guys were back yet, and the ship felt empty without them. Eduardo speculated that they wouldn't be back for a while. While she was plenty upset about having been confronted by Alan, she felt Eduardo was fussing too much over her, and she was not shy about telling him so.

"Eduardo, I'm really fine. You don't have to make this out to be such a big deal." She stated when they went down to their bedroom, and she sat down on the bed in front of him.

Eduardo removed his coat and tossed it onto the coat hanger. "Something could've happened to you."

"But it didn't."

"But it could have." He snapped back, running a hand through his hair. The sight elicited feelings inside of her that were quite inappropriate for the situation. She licked her lips and shifted her eyes away.

"You think they'll give Captain a decent price for fixing the ship?"

Eduardo placed his hands on his hips, eyeing her. "Don't try to change the subject."

Sam laughed, throwing her hands up. "Why do you still want to talk about it? It happened, I was able to get away, and you were there. End of story." She stood up and walked directly in front of Eduardo, who lowered his gaze from her to the floor.

He shook his head, without looking at her. "You're not to leave my sight like that again. You understand me?"

Sam rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "Oh not this again. I'm a grown woman and I'm completely capable of taking care of myself. Or have I not proven that yet?"

"That's not it Sam…" He started.

"Then what is it Eduardo?" She threw back quickly, growing frustrated with him, and yet ironically more aroused by the minute.

He lowered his voice. "I don't like it when that _thing _touches you."

A soft smile touched her face, and she couldn't help but giggle at his words. "That _thing_?"

"Yes, that _thing_. It's not that I think that you're incapable of taking care of yourself. Just seeing him touch you earlier caused my blood to boil."

He was jealous. Plain and simple. And while it was a silly notion, considering how he was the only man she would ever love, it still made her soften her gaze at him. His eyebrows knit together and, despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her then, she could see his eyes were closed, licking his lower lips anxiously.

"He just touched me Eduardo. It's not like I'm going to go throw myself at him." She protested quietly.

"Damn it Sam, that's not what I mean. It's not _just_ that he touched you, he threatened to hurt you. And as your husband, I'm furious that he dare thinks he has the right to threaten you in any way, shape, or form. You are _my _wife, and he, nor any man, has the right to threaten you or to even attempt to bring any harm to you. And as for just touching you, that right is reserved solely for me. You might as well get used to that one."

She wasn't sure why, but in that moment, she'd never wanted him to touch her more in her life. He finally did look up at her, and when his hazel eyes met hers, she saw how much he cared. And though he sounded angry, his eyes were angry, but concerned, worried. He was afraid that Alan would hurt her. The sight made her want him to wrap her in his arms. Suddenly, he lurched forward, grabbing both of her wrists in his hands and backing her back, up against the wall. He pinned her to the wall, holding her arms up above her head. She widened her eyes at him, at the sudden action, but couldn't help but feel a rush of desire wash through her as he looked down at her, his gaze intense.

Her smile turned seductive quickly, gazing up into his face. "Then touch me now."

He looked slightly taken aback by her words, as she had appeared angry with him not seconds before. "W-What?"

"Unless you've gone deaf within the past few seconds, you know exactly what I just said. If the right is solely yours, then do it. Touch me. I need you right now."

A quick eyebrow raise down at her, and his own mouth tugged into his signature smug smile that usually annoyed the crap out of her, but at the moment it was the most intoxicating smile she'd ever seen. She wasn't quite sure what had suddenly come over her, herself. But all she knew in that moment was that she needed her husband almost as much as she realized he needed her. Her hands still pinned above her head, she quickly stole a kiss from him, bringing her head forward and crushing her lips to his. Taking nearly no time at all, Eduardo groaned low in his throat and pressed her entire body up against the wall.

He tasted of sugar, and Sam felt drunk with ecstasy as Eduardo's lips continued to devour hers. He nibbled at her lower lip, drawing in between his and teasing it gently. The one thing she'd never say about this man was that he didn't know what he was doing. He always seemed to know exactly what to do with her. What little touches would cause her to moan against him. What caresses would cause her to cry out his name. He knew her body almost better than she did, and she always marveled at how quickly he could turn her into putty in his hands. As he slid his tongue against the contours of her lips, tracing them with this tongue, Sam melted.

Pulling back from her, she almost protested, but as his hands continued to hold hers, he led her over to their bed. She followed obediently as he backed her into the bed, so the backs of her knees touched the frame of the bed. As he went to push her back gently, she stopped him. She needed to touch him first, had to touch him. Not that she'd ever utter the words aloud to him, she quite enjoyed the sight of his body. The way his muscles, which were usually hidden underneath his clothing, seemed so powerful under the light. The way the little line of hair just below his navel trailed down underneath his waistband. She blushed as she began to slowly unbutton his shirt.

Smiling, he didn't protest as he allowed her to undress him. Undoing each button almost felt like an eternity to both of them, but she continued. She glanced up into his eyes, hazy with lust as she popped one button after another through the holes. As the last button popped free, she pulled the shirt from his form, and let it fall to the floor. She quickly inhaled as she guided her hands across his chest. Eduardo sucked at his teeth as her hands teased him, rubbing against his body. Eduardo quickly cupped her face in his hands, pressing hot kisses to her lips. He then swiftly tugged her own shirt over her head, and tossed it uselessly across the room. Trailing a hand down his flat stomach, he closed his eyes and let his head hang back as she reached for his trousers. Yet again, he didn't protest as she slid his trousers, and his undergarments, down his strong legs. She pressed her lips against his leg as she slid to the floor as she lowered his pants. He sprang, full and ready, out of his pants as they fell to the floor.

Reaching up, she took him in her hand, grabbing him firmly. He uttered a curse under his breath as she gently stroked the sensitive flesh. A bead of liquid emerged from his tip, and she rubbed it against him. Before he could stop her, she took him in her mouth, licking the length of him sensuously. She didn't get a chance to do this to him often, but she enjoyed the power she felt when she did. Looking up into her husband's face, his head thrown back as his fists clenched into fists at his side. He growled low in his throat, a sound that sent fire down Sam as she licked him again. He quickly yanked himself from her, and swiftly pushed her back onto the bed.

"Minx." He whispered huskily to her as he lifted her hips, removing her own pants.

He kissed his way back up her body once her pants were long gone. She took no time to wrap her legs around his waist, silently encouraging him. But still he held back, trailing kisses across her collarbone and chest. He took one breast into his mouth and sucked her gently, swirling his tongue around her. She threw her head back against the pillow and pulled his hips against hers again, wanting him inside of her.

He looked down at her gently, his expression soft. "Are you sure? Are you alright?"

His words touched her, and she leaned forward, kissing him lazily for several moments. The kiss was different from the one earlier; it was sweet, slow, tender. She heard him groan as she gave him once last quick peck before looking back up at him. She smiled at him, nodding. "Yes. I'm alright."

"Please." She pleaded as he nibbled on her. Eduardo couldn't restrain himself any longer, and with her simple plea, he was undone. With a groan, he slid home to her very core. Sam panted as she felt him throb inside of her. The sensation was almost too much to bear, and she bit her lip to silence her cries. He slowly began to thrust into her, each thrust send a spark of fire up her spin. She grabbed at him in desperation, needing him closer, even more so than he already was. Eduardo pressed his forehead against hers as they moved together, whispering sweet words to one another.

His face concentrated on hers, he smirked at her as they moved, sweat trickling down his face. The sight alone was enough for Sam. Finally the sparks began to blur together, and Sam felt herself soaring over the cliff. She cried out his name as the most intense orgasm she'd had in quite some time slammed into her like a ton of bricks. She dug her nails into his backside as she rode it out, writhing underneath him. It didn't take too long for Eduardo to follow her, moaning in completion as he squeezed his eyes shut. He emptied his seed into her with a strangled groan, and held himself above her as they panted together.

He collapsed next to her, laughing. "Well that was unexpected."

She chuckled. "Yeah, sorry."

He rolled to his side to look at her, bending his elbow and propping his head up on his hand. "You see me complaining?"

They laughed together, continuing to gaze into each other's eyes lovingly as they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Lord she loved this man. He could be arrogant at times, and there were certainly times that she'd soon as strangle her himself. But he loved her, and she knew he did. He didn't even have to say it to her for her to know that. He worried for her more than she worried for herself, and always seemed to put her ahead of himself. She had no idea how she had ever lived without him before, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to live without him now. He was her other half.

Eduardo scooted down lower on the bed. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he lowered his head, and pressed a tender kiss to her belly. She smiled as he rubbed a hand gently over the small bump that was beginning to develop.

"What do you think it is?" He asked softly.

Smiling, she shrugged as she sank down into the sheets. "I have no idea. Won't know until it's time." She ran her hand through his hair as he rested his head on her legs.

He nodded, continuing to stroke her belly tenderly. "Well, as long as the little ankle-biter has your smile and your eyes, I don't care what it is."

Sam smiled as she closed her eyes, lying back against her pillow as Eduardo continued to stroke her bump lovingly. She had no doubt in her mind that he'd be a great father. She just hoped that Alan would stay away from now on.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam brushed her hair as she got ready for bed. She could hear Eduardo in the next room as he rustled about, getting ready for bed himself. Smiling to herself, she looked down at her belly, admiring at its girth. Several months had passed, and the crew was back out at sea. Sam was now well into her pregnancy, and was now finally showing. It had taken around the sixth month for her baby bump to grow, and she was now quite proud of it. Now at eight months, her belly was fully developed. Her duties on board had been restricted down to helping Nathan every now and then in the kitchen, and helping to do the inventory. It had bothered her quite a bit at first, as she was used to always doing something, and had taken some adjustments. Eduardo even let her steer the ship by herself several times, with him keeping a close eye of course.

Alan hadn't been seen since that day in town. Once the ship had been repaired, they had wasted no time returning back out to the sea. For the first month after they'd left, they kept an extremely close watch for him, but he never showed. Sam had hoped that he had gotten the message, and was finally leaving them alone. Now, several months even after that, they had gotten back into their normal routine, and had even gone on a couple more missions for funds. With the exception of Sam, that is. She'd had to stay on board while the rest of the crew went out on their hunt. She'd busied herself with cleaning up around the ship, which she'd sneak in whenever Eduardo wasn't looking.

Despite the fact that they were around her all day, the guys would still come up to her, asking if they could feel her belly. While being the only woman on board was quite awkward at times, it was moments such as these that she didn't mind. Russell and Thomas in particular seemed awestruck almost every time they saw her, always wanting to know how she was feeling, and were like children themselves wanting to feel her belly. The little one growing inside of her was quite rambunctious, often having kicking fits for long periods of time. The guys on board were all fascinated with it. Morgan had even once had her sit down and talked down to her belly as if the child inside could hear him. Sam had loved it though. With Morgan talking to her belly, and the rest of the crew watching the scene smiling, she'd never felt more at home. A real family.

Her pregnancy had fairly smoothly, with Christopher keeping a close eye on her. The only thing that really drove her insane was her emotions. Her hormones had been swirling around the past few months, causing her to have extreme mood swings. One minute she'd be normal and happy, and the next she'd be crying for the dumbest reason. As she stroked another section of her hair, she giggled quietly about yesterday. Poor Russell had almost had a heart attack because he'd tripped some rope or something like that, and she'd just started bawling. Poor thing.

Sam placed her hairbrush back onto the counter and walked into the next room, heading towards the bed. She often found it difficult to coordinate herself around, with her pregnant belly obstructing the view to her feet. She'd managed to find an efficient system of getting into bed, and implemented it as she eased herself down onto the mattress. Eduardo was across the room, he'd taken his shirt off and was rearranging some clothing he'd tossed onto the chair in the corner of their room. She lifted an eyebrow at him as she watched.

He noticed her gaze and glanced over his shoulder at her, grinning. "What's that look for?"

She giggled. "No reason. Is it a crime to like looking at you?"

He chuckled and folded the last of the clothes in his arms up, placing it down gently, then making his way slowly to the bed towards her. "No. I'm your husband. I'd almost be offended if you didn't." He crawled onto the bed next to her. She smiled as his lips pressed against hers slowly. He pulled back and looked at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. As she felt a familiar thump in her belly, she inhaled quickly at the sensation.

"Are you ok? What's wrong?" Eduardo asked immediately.

Sam smiled and shook her head. "Little scamp." Instead of explaining, she took his hand and pressed it against the spot where the baby was kicking. A slow smile spread across his lips as he looked from her eyes down to her belly. He chuckled as she held his hand against her.

He looked back up into her eyes. "Have you thought anymore about names?"

"Some, yeah. Have you?"

"A little. What do you like so far?"

She shrugged. "I like the name Lily if it's a girl, after your mother."

Eduardo's smile widened, and he pressed his forehead against hers. "Yeah, I like that one too."

"What if it's a boy?"

Eduardo tilted his head and pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I kind of liked the name Andrew for a boy."

Sam nodded. "After my brother. I like it."

Eduardo sank back against the bed, tucking an arm behind his head. "Won't be long now you know."

She joined him, cuddling up against one another. "Any time now."

Eduardo chuckled quietly, the vibration rocking her as she curled up against his chest. "I just hope I don't screw the poor kid up."

"You'll be a great father Eduardo."

"… You really think so?" He asked quietly, almost shyly.

"Without a doubt." She yawned sleepily as Eduardo curled his arms around her middle as he lazily traced a line up and down her arm. She closed her eyes, letting sleep take her. She slept blissfully in Eduardo's arms, snuggled into his warmth.

A few, short hours later, during the middle of the night, a noise awoke her. She awoke with a start, looking around for the source of the noise. It had sounded as if something had fallen, crashing to the floor. It had come from outside of their bedroom, and she listened intently to see if she could hear it again. Her motion had immediately awoken Eduardo, who sat up in the bed next to her.

"What's the matter?" He asked, his voice alert but still had sleep interlaced in it.

"I thought heard something. It woke me up. Sorry, go back to sleep." She apologized, when she heard nothing. She went to lay back down when she heard, what sounded like, footsteps coming from outside of the room. Despite it being dark, she looked at Eduardo, who placed a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it and pulled the covers back, quietly going to stand.

"Stay here. I'll go see what it is." He whispered. He grabbed his pistol from his nightstand and crept silently to the door. Slowly opening it, he peered outside, looking both ways. He looked back at Sam and motioned for her to remain in bed. He then quietly crept into the hallway, treading softly down as he made his way towards where the footsteps had been. Sam rubbed the back of her neck as she waited for Eduardo. It had probably been nothing, and she again felt bad for waking Eduardo. A few moments passed as she watched the door, the soft light from the hall shining gently against her face. She sighed and stretched, feeling a familiar kick deep in her belly.

It was then that she heard an audible thud coming from down the hallway. Her head shot up and she threw back the covers on her side of the bed. Tip-toeing to the door, she peered through the crack Eduardo had left. Seeing no one, she opened the door further, stepping lightly into the dimly lit hall. She nibbled at her lower lip as she made her way towards where she thought the thud had come from. She'd probably get scolded by Eduardo later for it, but she became worried when she called out quietly for Eduardo, but heard no response.

She rounded the corner, as to go to the kitchen, and saw Eduardo. He was lying on the floor, apparently having been knocked unconscious. His pistol having had fallen out of his hand, lying on the floor a few feet in front of him. Sam went to run to his side, but felt someone wrap an arm around her, holding her back. She went to scream, but felt a cold, clammy hand wrap around her mouth. She struggled against her captors hold as they dragged her back, away from Eduardo. Kicking back, she continued to struggle against the arms that held her back, screaming against their hand.

"My pearl." A familiar voice whispered in her ear before she felt something slam against her neck, and her world went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam awoke groggily, her eyes unfocused as she opened them. She blinked several times, and went to use her hands to rub them, but found herself to bring them forward. After a moment of confusion, she quickly realized that her wrists were bound down at her sides. Instantly alert, her groggy eyes focused on the bedroom she now found herself in. She was lying on a large mattress, her body propped up against the headboard and her arms bound down at her sides by the posts. It certainly wasn't her and Eduardo's room, nor any room on the Sirius for that matter. She struggled against the restraints at her hands, but with no prevail. The back of her neck began to throb dully, and she stopped.

The room was quite large, she noticed. Intricate decorations lavished the walls, rich reds and royal blues spread across the wall paper. She knew she had to be on a ship, as she could still feel the steady rocking underneath her. The room had to have belonged to the captain of the ship, as it was much larger than most rooms on a ship would be. Morgan's room wasn't quite as large as this one, but it was also considerably larger than everyone else's on board. Elaborate furniture were placed about the room, dark wood furniture that reminded her of the kind of furniture you would find in a mansion.

She tried to remember what had happened last night, but her mind was still foggy. She remembered something slamming up against the back of her neck, which had knocked her unconscious. Other than that right now it was a tad bit fuzzy. Her mind was jarred, and as much as her neck was throbbing at that point, she was almost afraid she wouldn't remember. She felt the familiar kicking in her belly, and whimpered when she was unable to reach down to rub her belly, to comfort the little kicker inside.

Slowly, as she sat back against the bed frame, her memory from last night began to come back to her. She remembered being in bed asleep with Eduardo, and woke up to a noise. Eduardo had gone outside to check to see what the noise was and… Panic slammed into her as she remembered seeing Eduardo's unconscious body lying on the ground in the hallway. She hoped that he was alright, and then as she remembered the words whispered in her ear, right before she'd fallen unconscious, tears began to fall from her eyes. She was on the Rika. As she looked over at the nightstand, and saw the familiar captain's hat lying on it, it only confirmed it for her. She sobbed as she ripped at the cords holding her down.

The door began to open, and Sam instantly froze, watching as Alan stepped inside the room. He grinned at her and closed the door behind him. His eyes leered at her as he walked into the room, towards her. As he skulked towards her, he looked a lot more terrifying than the last she'd seen him. He looked angrier, scarier. She couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly, but as she would normally have written off as a bumbling moron, she could feel as his intent glare went through her, and for the first time she was genuinely afraid of Alan.

"Well hello my pearl. How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting on the bed next to her.

Sam recoiled and tried to move away from him. "Shitty. How do you think I'm doing?"

He chuckled. "Well at least you're home now my pearl."

"I'm not home you sick bastard. Where the hell is the Sirius?"

Alan sighed. "I understand you must be confused, but you no longer have to be around those terrible pirates."

"I'm not confused," she growled, "you kidnapped me from the Sirius."

Alan placed a hand on her leg, to which she tried to shake loose. "I saved you from the Sirius my dear. And I see that dreadful eye-patch man did this to you." Alan gestured to her swollen belly. He went to place a hand on her belly, but she again moved out of his grasp. She didn't want this horrible man touching where her child rested. She went to retort something nasty back at him, but held her tongue as he looked up at her. His smile was soft but his eyes were hard as he leaned in towards her.

"But not to worry my dear. I will not touch you until that _thing_ is out of you. Then once we dispose of it, we can be together at last." He said quietly. She looked at him with horror as he stood back up. He grabbed what looked like a handkerchief from his nightstand and went back over to her. He grabbed her chin and forced the handkerchief into her mouth, gagging her. With a smile, he then walked back to the door, and exited. She sobbed as the door clicked shut behind him, and she heard his footsteps disappear down the hallway.

She _had _to get out of here. The tone of his voice as he had implied what he was going to do with her child had sent a chill up her spine, and she wanted to be as far away as she could possibly get. She had no idea where Eduardo or the other Sirius pirates were, but if she knew Eduardo, they wouldn't be too far away. She continued to sob as she frantically tried to position her hands in a position that would allow her to undo the ties. She dug her feet down into the mattress and lifted her body as high as she could, to see if she could relax the stress on her bounds. The bounds started to become limp, and Sam held her position, quickly seeing if she could reach one hand over to the other, and untie it.

She fought ferociously with the ties for several long moments, before she finally felt as the one around her left wrist went slack. She pulled it forward and flexed her fingers, relieving the numbness in her hand. Pulling the gag from her mouth, she spun around and went about untying her other arm. Releasing it from its bounds, she sprung off the bed. She needed a weapon if she had any chance of getting out of here. She trifled through Alan's drawers on his nightstand, seeing if he had any weapons. Unable to find any, she continued her search through the other containers in the room. She ripped drawers from their cabinets, threw containers to the floor.

Finally, upon finding a secret cabinet Alan had behind a painting hanging against the wall, she found one of his swords. Snatching it from its holder, she gripped it tightly and made her way to the door. There wasn't really any place she could go while on the Rika, but she could keep herself locked in the room until the Sirius came for her, which she knew it would. As she locked the door and pressed a chair up against the doorknob, she remembered what Eduardo had told Daniel right before he was arrested. She held out hope that he would be able to find her, and that he would be there quickly.

Holding the sword firmly in her grasp, she sat down in one of the chairs in the corner of the room, on the far end away from the door. She wanted to keep a firm watch of that door, in case Alan tried to return. At least now she had a weapon she could use if he did make it in. A sharp pain swiftly wracked through her body and she clenched her teeth as she rode it out. It went away as quickly as it came, and she tacked it up as stress, not thinking much of it.

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, and she grabbed a hold of the bed post to prevent herself from falling to the floor. When the ship finally steadied, she looked up at the tiny window by Alan's bed. She smelled smoke as she made her way towards the chair. The window was high up, and without some sort of boost, she wouldn't be able to see. Quickly pulling the chair over to the window, she stood on the top of the chair to peer through, to see a ship firing cannon's on the Rika. She sobbed in relief as the ships flags flying high in the air. She'd recognize those flags anywhere. The Sirius had never looked so beautiful to her as she watched as it came closer and closer to the Rika.

Another wave of pain slammed into her as she stood on the chair, and she hastily lowered herself back down to the floor. The pain was increasingly worse, and she grabbed her belly as she tried to pant her way through the pain. It was when she felt a warm liquid spreading down her thighs that she realized what was happening.

"Oh for the love of God," She moaned as she stumbled back, lowering herself back into the chair, "you have the worst timing sweetie." She tasted blood in her mouth as she bit her lip to contain her screams, gripping the sword tightly in her hands as she tried to ride out the wave of pain.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam had no idea how long it had been since the Sirius had shown up, but as she tried to breathe deep, it felt like an eternity. The fighting on deck had started, she could hear it in the distance. The sounds of swords clashing, gun shots, echoed through the hall and into the bedroom. But as much as she wanted to go upstairs and fight with everyone, she couldn't move. Sam clenched her teeth as another painful wave hit her, and she panted as she clawed at the chair's arm. It hurt so bad, and as valiantly as she fought not to scream through the pain, her efforts proved ineffective.

At some point Alan had come down, to get her likely, but found himself unable to open the door. He had been pounding against the door the past few minutes, and she could hear him cursing as he tried to get in. Squeezing the arm rest, she held the sword firmly in her other hand. The door wouldn't last much longer, and she knew that. He had been slashing at it with a sword, and she knew it was only a matter of minutes before he splintered the door open, and forced his way inside. She looked up at the window, looming over her head, seeing the smoke floating past. At least she knew they were there. That gave her a small amount of comfort. While she couldn't see them, she knew they were nearby.

"Well…" she whispered down to her belly, smiling, "I have to give it to you. You're just like your father. Determined to have it your way." She chuckled quietly to herself, then grabbing at the arm rest once again as she tried to quiet her cries. Sweat trickled down her face, stinging her eyes. She felt hot and cold all at the same time. She began to hum quietly, rubbing her hand across her belly, trying to soothe both her baby, and herself. Hot tears trickled down her face as she rocked herself, seeing as the blood began to flow down her legs like a small river.

As she predicted, the door began to splinter open, and she could see Alan clawing his way inside. She held her knees together, and attempted to stand, to defend herself when he did come in. But she couldn't. Squeezing her knees together, she rubbed her hand gently over her bump. Another sob racked her, and she silently called Eduardo's name over and over. She needed him there right now, more than she needed to breathe.

Alan climbed in through the remains of the door, and trudged over to her, his own sword dangling at his side. Sam held her sword up towards him, keeping him at a distance. His lips curled into a sadistic smile as he held a hand up at her.

"What do you think you're doing my pearl?"

"Keeping you… the hell… away from me." She gasped. She'd grown weak from the pain, and she was barely able to keep the sword up at waist level. But she'd be damned if Alan tried to do anything to her or her baby.

Alan took a step towards her, seemingly ignoring the sword. "Don't be stupid dear. What do you think you're going to do with that?"

"If it comes to it… kill you… if I have to…" She panted.

Alan chuckled, low in his throat. "You know pearl, I've been quite patient with you… But I've about had it up to my limit with this nonsense. You and I both know that you're not going anywhere, that you're going to stay here with me. Now give me that sword." He held out his hand towards her, waiting for her to hand over her weapon. But she only held it out, her determined glare boring into him.

With a sigh, he shook his head. "Have it your way then."

He swiftly pulled his own sword up, knocking her sword away, and pointing his firmly at her belly. She'd been so weak from her own pain, that he was easily able to knock the sword from her hand. Took him almost no effort for him at all, as she watched the sword clatter to the ground a few feet away from her. She lifted her hand up, blocking the tip of his sword from pressing into her belly. The tip pinched her skin as she held it away from her child, protecting it the best she could.

"Please," she begged quietly and shaking her head, "please don't."

She faintly heard her name being called further down the hall, but as Alan motioned for her to stand, she found herself unable to utter a sound. She went to stand, as he had indicated, but screamed in pain as she collapsed back down into the chair. Her legs buckled beneath her and she managed to catch herself on the chair behind her.

Alan sighed, sounding annoyed. "Well, it appears you're in labor. I'll have to deliver the thing, then dispose of it at a later time for you."

He lowered his sword, tucking it back into its holder at his side. He turned and crossed the room, towards one of the cabinets. Sam clenched her teeth as another contraction rolled through her. She was not going to let him hurt her baby. She lowered herself from the chair down to the floor, and began to crawl across the floor towards her sword, which Alan had kicked into the center of the room. Alan grabbed a few blankets and towels and turned around. He saw her crawling towards her sword, and quickly rushed forward and kicked it out of her grasp again. She sobbed as he tossed the blankets down next to her. He was making his way back towards her when she saw Eduardo's head appear from between the splintered door.

Without hesitation, Eduardo quickly rushed into the room. He tackled Alan around the middle, sending the two of them sprawling to the ground. Sam crawled away from the fight, towards the other side of the room, and propped herself up against the wall. She sobbed as she saw the trail of blood following after her as she leaned up against the wall. But he was here. He'd come for her. Not that she'd ever doubted him, but she'd never been so happy to see him in her entire life. Sam watched as the two wrestled with one another on the floor. Punches flew, and she watched in fascination as the two men fought against each other.

Eduardo eventually got the upper hand, being much stronger than Alan, and pinned him to the ground. He held nothing back as he landed punch after punch against Alan's face. She continued to watch him, pummeling the seeming life out of Alan. She was pretty sure that if no one stopped him, he'd probably kill him. If she'd had any more strength in her, she would've done it herself, but she couldn't.

"You son of a bitch I ought to kill you for touching her." Eduardo said ruthlessly as continued to pound Alan into the floor.

Christopher and Russell shortly appeared in the door frame, and came in after Eduardo. Christopher rushed to Sam's side, while Russell rushed to join Eduardo. He began kicking the side of Alan for a moment, as if for entertainment, then grabbed Eduardo and pulled him back off of Alan's now unconscious body. Christopher's eyes followed the trail of blood leading up to Sam and bent over next to her. At that point, Nathan, Thomas, and Morgan had also joined them in the room, and were now trying to restrain Eduardo.

Eduardo fought against the other guys as he looked over at Sam. "Let me go! See there? That's blood! He hurt Sam!"

Christopher checked over her body quickly, apparently initially believing she'd been injured. When he didn't, he looked puzzled for a moment before looking into Sam's eyes. She grabbed his hand and squeezed as another contraction came on, and she clenched his hand in hers. Her voice was too weak at that point for her to say anything, but Christopher finally seemed to understand.

"How far apart are they?" He asked her gently. She held up two fingers, indicating the contractions were now only two minutes apart.

He scooped her up off the floor and into his arms. "She's not injured Eduardo, she's in labor. We need to get her to our ship. Now."


	10. Chapter 10

Eduardo was right by Christopher the minute the words were out of his mouth. "She's what?"

"She's not injured, she's in labor. We need to get her back to the ship because she's having a baby like, right now." Christopher said. He delicately handed Sam to Eduardo, who instantly looked desperate to hold her, upon hearing what Christopher had just said. Eduardo gathered her in his arms, and Sam threw hers around his neck.

"Oh Sam," Eduardo said, his tone completely different, "it's alright, I'm here now. It's gonna be alright now."

"Not to interrupt or anything," Nathan interjected, "but we should probably get the hell out of here while the other part of Alan's crew are otherwise indisposed."

"I agree with Nathan," Morgan stated, "we have to get Sam back to the ship. We're all about to have a baby!"

The group agreed quickly and swiftly made their way out of Alan's room. Alan had been tied to the bedpost by Nathan, but still being unconscious, the group wasn't worried about him anymore. Sam held onto Eduardo's neck tightly as they made their way up the stairs, and headed towards their own ship. He whispered words of encouragement to her as he carried her towards the Sirius. She sobbed again as she squeezed his neck, another contraction hitting her.

They quickly made their way across the ladder that the boys had used to switch ships, and boarded the Sirius. Despite being in immense pain, Sam felt so relieved to be back on the Sirius. She was just relieved in general that they had managed to find her. She'd been terrified that Alan had done something to them after he'd taken her, and was just so happy to see all of them well. Not that she could focus too much on that, she had other presses issues at hand. While Eduardo and Christopher quickly made their way to Christopher's office, the rest of the crew busied themselves with detaching the Sirius from the Rika, and trying to get as far away from them as possible.

Christopher quickly threw a blanket over the table, and Eduardo gently placed Sam on top of it. Lying back on the table, she looked up at Eduardo, sweat continuing to drip down her face. Eduardo pulled a chair up next to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly as Christopher hastily grabbed some supplies off the shelves. Sam's head pushed down into the table as she cried out with another painful contraction. Eduardo was right by her side, whispering words of encouragement to her as he sat next to her. Christopher came back to the both of them, going back down towards Sam's lower end. He placed his hands on her knees as he moved away her lower garments, inspecting how far along in the delivery she was.

He looked back up at Sam, a slightly worried look on his face. "Alright Sam, it's not going to be an easy delivery for you, but we're going to get you through this alright?"

"What do you mean it's not going to be an easy delivery? Childbirth was supposed to be easy?" She screamed, squeezing Eduardo's hand.

Christopher smiled. "No, it's not. What I mean is that the baby is breach; it's turned around the wrong way. So you're going to have to push even harder."

"Breach? Is it going to be ok?" Eduardo asked.

Christopher nodded. "It'll be fine; Sam's just going to have a harder time with it. Now I can see it starting to come out, so you're going to have to start pushing Sam."

Eduardo kissed her forehead. "It's gonna be ok love. I'm right here."

Christopher held her knees further apart as he looked up at her face. "Ok, start pushing now." Sam nodded as she began pushing with all of her might. It hurt so bad that she was afraid she would pass out from it. But with Eduardo stroking her hair and kissing her forehead reassuringly every now and again, she continued on. She screamed as she gave one last final push before resting again. Her head bounced against the table as she collapsed against it, panting as she rested her body as much as she could.

"Come on Sam, don't stop, keep pushing." Christopher instructed.

Sam shook her head, sobbing. "I can't. I can't. I need to rest a minute."

"Sam I know how tired you are, I can't imagine, but you have to keep pushing." Christopher insisted.

Sam shook her head again and squeezed Eduardo's hand in hers, the pain so incredible she could barely handle it. It tore into her, and she felt as if she could rip in half at any moment. Christopher motioned for Eduardo to come closer. As Sam closed her eyes, tears trickling down her face, Christopher leaned forward to speak to Eduardo.

"You've got to get her to keep pushing." Christopher whispered.

"She says she needs to rest. Give her a minute." Eduardo replied sharply.

"And in any other time I would, and by god she deserves it. But Eduardo, she's starting to bleed out more than she can handle. Having a breach baby can do a lot of damage to her if it doesn't come out soon. Lord knows how long she was in labor on the Rika. If she doesn't push this baby out soon she's going to bleed out. Look at her face Eduardo, she's already as white as a ghost. You've got to get her to push."

Eduardo's eyes widened, but he nodded, swallowing thickly as the reality of the situation dawned on him. Going back up to his crying wife, he cupped her face in his hands, rubbing his finger tenderly across her cheek. "Come on Sam, you've got to keep pushing."

Sam squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm trying!"

"I know you are baby, but you need to keep pushing. Please baby, you can do it." He encouraged softly, stroking her face. Sam swallowed thickly as she looked up into his reassuring eyes. Nodding, she went back to pushing. Throwing her head back and resting it back against the table, she pushed with all of her might. As she screamed in pain again, she harbored her new found respect for all the mothers out in the world.

"That's it Sam! Almost there!" Christopher shouted encouragingly up at her.

Eduardo was on his feet next to her at that point, holding onto her arm and she squeezed. "Come on, you can do it Sam!"

"One last push Sam, come on!" Christopher said.

Sam mustered as much energy as she could and gave one final push, pushing with everything that she had. Screaming and shouting, she gave it everything she had, and pushed until she suddenly felt everything leave her body. Her head fell back against the table as her energy drained once again, and she slumped into the table. Her ears rang as panted in exhaustion. She could see Eduardo smiling at her, then down at Christopher, then back at her. Panting, she sobbed in relief and happiness when she heard the tiny cries of a baby.

"What is it?" Sam managed to ask quietly, still panting.

Christopher gathered the tiny baby in his arms and smiled up at her. "It's a girl."

Eduardo leaned down and kissed her on the lips firmly. She could feel hot tears fall onto her face, and she realized they were Eduardo's. She was too tired to say anything else, but looked down at Christopher, wanting to see her baby. He quickly took her over to another table to dry her off, and to clean her up a bit. Once he cleaned her, he wrapped the baby in a towel, and then handed the tiny little pink baby to Eduardo. Eduardo beamed with a glow that Sam had never seen from him before, but it seemed to suite him. He laughed wetly as he looked down at the little girl in his arms, holding her delicately as if he were afraid to break her. Sam relaxed against the table, closing her eyes momentarily to rest as Eduardo held their daughter in his arms.

"Congratulations you two. She's beautiful. I'll leave you two alone and tell the boys." Christopher said, quietly making his exit.

Eduardo sat down next to Sam, showing her the beautiful baby in his arms. "She's perfect." And as Sam looked down at their daughter, she couldn't agree more. She was beautiful. A little angel in her father's arms as she cooed quietly up at him.

Eduardo looked up at Sam, tears welling in his eyes. "She has your eyes."

Sam smiled over at him. "Beautiful little Lily."

Eduardo nodded. "It suites her."


	11. Chapter 11

Sam had been moved down to her and Eduardo's room, so she could get some proper rest after giving birth to Lily. When they'd walked into their room, they had found a small wooden crib sitting promptly next to Sam's side of the bed. Christopher told her that Russell had made it secretly for them the past few months, and had placed it in there for them. Sam was touched by his kindness, and had wept. Not that she was sad that he had gone to all that trouble for them, but that she was happy that he had. That and her hormones were still in such a frenzy that the drop of a hat would have made her cry at that point.

The guys had stayed away, following Eduardo's order to leave the three of them alone while Sam recuperated. She was a lot weaker than she'd initially thought, and while she normally would have argued with Christopher's orders for her to stay in bed, she found herself unable to. She slept for a good amount of time, which Christopher had told her would be normal given the difficult delivery, and the fact that she had indeed lost a good amount of blood in the process. Eduardo had held her hand the entire time she slept, barely sleeping himself as he watched over her and Lily. He'd whisper sweet words to her every once in a while, and would kiss her hand or forehead every so often as well.

Sam would hold Lily until she couldn't stay awake any longer. She was beautiful, and Sam loved her to pieces already. Eduardo had been right, she did have her eyes. But when that sweet little baby had cooed up at her, Sam saw that she definitely had Eduardo's smile. And on top of that, her head was already full of thick black hair, like Eduardo's. At some point she felt Eduardo take her from her arms, as she had drifted in and out of sleep, but she enjoyed watching Eduardo hold her almost as much as she did.

Lily was such a quiet baby, barely making a sound. She'd coo every once in a while at the two, and would only cry when it was time for Sam to feed her. She had quite the hardy appetite, which Eduardo had joked was definitely a trait she'd gotten from her mother. Eduardo had walked around the room at one point, bouncing her gently up and down to attempt to get her to fall asleep. She'd giggled, that happy baby giggle that melts the heart of anyone who hears it. Sam had smiled when she caught Eduardo tearing up, looking down at her, but had shrugged it off when she'd asked him about it. Lily fell asleep at some point, and Eduardo had climbed into bed next to her, and held Sam to him.

Stroking her hair, he kissed her forehead. "You did wonderfully."

She laughed quietly against his chest. "I guess so. She has the worst timing in the world, but I'm glad she's finally here."

Eduardo chuckled. "Yeah her timing wasn't exactly opportune."

"Not in the least. For a minute there I was almost afraid that the first face she'd ever see would be Alan's. Probably would've scarred her for life." She joked. Eduardo's hand stilled against her and he took a ragged breath, squeezing her tighter against him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

She tilted her head to look up at him. "What for?"

"I wasn't there for you. He came up from behind me and knocked me out, I should have been more prepared. He kidnapped you, all because I didn't pay more attention."

Sam shook her head. "It's not your fault. He would've figured a way in at some point, no matter what. You came when it mattered most. Lily and I are both safe now, because you and the others were able to get to us when it counted."

"I should've killed him when I had the chance." Eduardo seethed.

Sam smiled, shaking her head at him again. "No, I'm glad you didn't. As much as we've all thought it, killing Alan wouldn't solve anything."

"I'd feel a hell of a lot better. God Sam I saw you lying on the floor, in his room, with blood trailing behind you…" He started but trailed off.

Sam pulled her hand up and cupped his cheek. "I'm alright. I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere." She brought her lips up to his and kissed him gently.

"But you do know this isn't going to be over with? Not yet. He's going to keep coming after you. And now Lily's at risk too. He's going to come after her too now. I'm going to protect my family Sam. No matter what. And if he comes after you again and I still have a breath left in my body, I'll do whatever I need to, to protect you two." Eduardo said, his voice firm.

"I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. He may be stupid, but he knows better. And if we're lucky, he's finally gotten the message."

"I don't want to chalk this up to 'luck'. He may not be back now, or in a week, or a month, or even in a few years. But he'll be back."

Pressing her head back into his shoulder, she nodded. "I know."

She fell back asleep a few short minutes later, with Eduardo cradling her against his chest. When she did wake back up, Eduardo had gone over to Lily's crib, looking down at her. Sam saw how he looked at their daughter, and couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes just lit up when he looked down at her, and Sam knew that even though he would never admit to it, he was already wrapped around that little girl's finger. Every now and then, he'd lean over and press a kiss against the little girl's head, smiling lovingly down at her. If Sam hadn't been sure about it before, she knew it now looking at him. He was going to be a great father. She had no doubt in her mind.

Several hours later, once Sam was awake and insistent she was well enough, the room quickly filled as the guys practically ran into the room. They crowded around her and Lily as Sam held her delicately in her arms. Eduardo sat in the chair next to the bed, his eyes warning as he looked up at the eager men crowding around them. Morgan had been the first to hold Lily, as he proclaimed that by being the captain, he should be the first to hold her. He began to tear up himself as he looked down at the smiling baby girl, though he stated that it wasn't tears but sweat that everyone was seeing. Thomas was handed Lily next, and with some assistance from everyone else, was able to properly hold her in his arms. The rest of the group continued to huddle around Lily as Christopher quickly checked over Sam to make sure she was doing alright.

"She definitely has Sam's eyes." Russell said, smiling up at her.

Morgan patted Eduardo's back. "Well if she's lucky, she'll take on her mother's good looks as well." Morgan ignored Eduardo's glares as he chuckled.

"It's gonna be weird having _two _girls on board now. I was just getting used to one." Nathan joked. The group laughed, and Sam settled back into the pillows. She'd never been so happy in her life, and she was so glad everyone was there to share it with her.


	12. Final Note

**Hey guys! Thank you soooo much for your wonderful feedback on this story (and all of my other stories)! This is going to be it for this particular story, however I will be making a ****sequel**** to this story so stick around! Hopefully I'll have the first chapter of my new story up by the end of this week, so I hope you like it! **

**On top of that, I'm working on a new story as a sequel to my other story "The Road Ahead", so keep an eye out for that one as well! Thank you again for all of your wonderful feedback and I'm so happy that you guys have been enjoying these!**


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